A Brand New Chapter
Chapter II
By: Shigeru
Insert legal disclaimer and shounen ai warning here.
~~
It had been seven months since Shigeru had made his way to Johto. He didn't think it was possible to change so much in such a short amount of time.
Sure enough, he looked almost exactly the same. He was fourteen, going on fifteen years old. His hair was the same mess of brown spikes. And he still wore his blue-purple shirt, dark jeans, and custom-made boots. But his mind had changed in such ways that he sometimes wondered if he was still the same person that he was when he left Masara Town.
Although, he had made sure no other person had noticed the drastic change. Over the months, he had captured a variety of new species of Pokémon. And, he had earned six of the minimum requirement of eight badges for entrance to the Johto League. Inside of his badge case were the Wing, Insect, Regular, Phantom, Shock, and Steel badges. He had also done more training in that short period of time than he had known was possible.
He was sure of one thing, though. Despite the company of his Pokémon—they all were excellent friends—he was lonely. He missed what was left of his family. Professor Ookido and Nanami were all that was left, but they were enough. They were all he had ever had when he was growing up.
No, he thought to himself in response. They were not all I had. Back then . . . I had also had Satoshi . . . But I ruined that in the worst of ways.
He forced his mind away from that topic. And placed it on where he was going next. At the moment, he was east of Enju City. He had learned that the closest gym was the one in Choju Town, which housed trainers that specialized in Ice-types. He was more than prepared to turn up the heat for them.
And that's when the voice came, seemingly out of no where. "Hey! You're obviously a trainer to be out here. So what do you say to a match?"
Gary twisted his head in the direction of the sound. He wasn't sure what to make of the guy at first. A plain black tee shirt with matching wristbands, light green jeans, and an orange bandana tied around dark hair. He seemed fairly ordinary. But a battle was the perfect thing to take his mind off of Satoshi and the rest of his problems . . .
"Alright. You're on, pal," he said, giving a smug grin.
~~
"Satoshi, did you get us lost, again?" Kasumi whined, being her usual, annoying self. She had very little faith in Satoshi's direction finding abilities.
But in all truth, Satoshi knew exactly where he was. He was supposed be heading straight for Enju City to battle for his Phantom Badge, but he had become "lost" for a few days in order to search more of Mount Mortar for Shigeru. He knew the other trainer had almost a half-day's head start on him, but he couldn't have pulled too far ahead, since he had started walking instead of being driven around.
But . . . his search of the mountain had turned up nothing. He had no excuse to keep them trudging along cliffs when the city was so near. "Enju City is only a little over a mile from here," he said, a bit more sorely than he had intended. Takeshi gave him a sideways glance, but he tried his best to ignore it. He also noticed Pikachu's ears twitching in a way to let him know he wasn't happy with Satoshi's behavior. Now wasn't the time to mess with him. He gave the direction he was walking in a slight adjustment. One that, in less than an uneventful minute, he was able to see the path that ran along, back on ground level, instead of on the mountain.
He also could see something else. Two trainers, squaring off for a battle—or else the battle had already started and Pokémon had just been changed. One was dressed in a black shirt and green pants, with an orange bandana tied around his head. A Fudin was standing next to him.
The other trainer had his back to him. But Satoshi would have been able to recognize him no matter what angle it was from. The purple hued shirt. The dark blue pants. The boots he had never seen any other person wear. And that spiky brown hair he had known for his entire life. It was Shigeru, there was no doubt about that. But, despite he had finally found what he had been looking for—his eyes were drawn to the mysterious black-furred Pokémon at Shigeru's side.
He signaled for his friend to stop, and they all turned to see the battle that was about to take place.
"A new Pokémon," he said, a bit surprised, as he whipped his Pokédex out of the left pocket of his vest, flipping it open and aiming the sensor at Shigeru's Pokémon.
It took less than a second before a beep was heard. "Burakki, the Moonlight Pokémon. Ivui evolves into this Pokémon when exposed to the rays from the moon. Burakki is of the Evil element."
Satoshi snapped the Pokédex closed, but didn't put it away quite yet. He wasn't sure if any other new Pokémon would appear in this match. "Wow, Shigeru's Ivui must have evolved into that Burakki," he said, a bit quieter than usual. The Burakki was a wonder to see.
Takeshi gave a soft nod and an acknowledging grunt. "He must have trained it even better than I first thought." Back at the battle between Satoshi and Shigeru, Takeshi had judged Ivui to be exceedingly strong, but he had not expected it to evolve naturally this fast. There must be other factors that came into play during its evolution.
Fighting off every urge in his body to run down to the field, Satoshi forced himself to stay on the small ledge they were standing on. He'd only be getting in the way if he charged down there right now, and he wanted to see just how good Shigeru had gotten since their battle.
Satoshi would be far from disappointed.
~~
Shigeru was in a much better mood, now. The battle was two on two, and he doubted he would have to change his Pokémon. The kid's Gyaradosu had already been taken out of the battle. With his left fist on his hip, he turned his head to look down at his prized Burakki.
"Burakki, you've already taken out one Pokémon. Are you ready to go in for another KO?" The smile that filled Shigeru's face told that he already knew the response he would get.
Burakki, who had been sitting calmly on its haunches while the other trainer switched Pokémon, got up to all four paws, its tail sticking slightly into the air behind it. An enthusiastic "Burak!" told Shigeru what he already knew. Burakki was more than willing to battle.
"So, ready for this one to end up like your Gyaradosu?" he asked with a smirk.
At this point, the other trainer was seething mad. He was holding up a clenched fist, shaking it with barely controlled rage. Shigeru knew how to press people's buttons. "Oh, you're going to pay for that!" he cried, his eyebrows tensing. "Fudin, Zap Cannon!"
The Fudin, who was standing just in front and to the side of its trainer, reared back slightly, pulling its arms to either side and letting out a "Fu-". As it planted its feet, swinging the arms back around in front, it released the rest of its name in a "-din!" The spoons it carried in either hand had begun to crackle with electricity. This was an attack that took a few seconds to charge. But both Burakki and Shigeru waited patiently. Soon enough, a spark jumped between the two spoons, and with a barely audible sizzle, an orb of lightning formed.
At this point, Burakki firmly planted all four feet to the ground, letting out another "Burak!" to show it was ready. The small creature's voice was slightly high pitched, unlike the deep voice of the Fudin. But Burakki's voice was more cute than annoying (Unlike Shigeru's American voice . . .).
The globe of energy housed between the two spoons of the Psychic-element Pokémon seemed to shrink back within itself. And then, with the sound of a laser cannon unleashing it's fury, the Zap Cannon finally fired off. The speed at which it flew through the air was incredible! The force altered the perfect spherical shape, causing it become an oblong oval. The heat of the electricity raised the air around it to such high temperatures, that what could almost be mistaken for a while shield formed in front of the advancing attack, and the huge tail that shot out behind it gave a remarkable resemblance to a comet.
Shigeru was ready, now. His face transformed from the arrogant look of a person who had no doubt in the world he would win, into the battle-ready face of a military commander in the heart of war. His own feet were planted, much like Burakki's, as he swung his right arm around before pointing to the orb of light that was despite the seemingly small size, extremely powerful. His left hand clenched into a tight fist. "Jump out the way, Burakki!"
As it seemed, Burakki's firm hold on the ground was not meant to be a brace for the attack. Instead, the coiled leg muscles fired, sending the Moonlight Pokémon flying into the air with a curt "Burak!" The charge from the Zap Cannon flew by, barely inches from Shigeru's leg. The force caused his clothing to flap as if in a strong windstorm, and dirt was raised like a cage around the path it had taken. And once it hit the earth, it was if a small explosion had occurred, rocks and sand from the natural road flying in all directions. However, most of the pieces were carried along the orb's original trajectory.
"Oh, no!" Satoshi cried from his perch on the mountain ledge, more concerned for Shigeru's well being than that of Burakki's. If wasn't until after the dust cleared as he was able to see that Shigeru was perfectly fine did his racing heart go back to normal.
Pikachu was as shocked as Satoshi, letting out a startled "Pika!" at the sheer force of the electric attack. Not even Pikachu's super-charged conductors would have been able to create something that powerful. It was obvious to everyone watching—Satoshi, Takeshi, Kasumi, and Pikachu, that they would have been out of their league in this match. Any one of them would be creamed by either of the two Pokémon battling.
"Fudin," the unknown trainer called out, pointed up at the Burakki who was still suspended in the air, "Psywave attack." He was slightly peeved that the Zap Cannon had missed, but he knew it was inaccurate. His temper wouldn't flare yet.
Fudin's arms once again went wide, then came in close, the spoons almost touching as it let out its battle cry of "Fu-din!" Dust began circling skyward at the Psi Pokémon's feet as it built up energy for the attack. It took only seconds before the ground cracked with a sound like shattering glass, kicking up huge chunks of rock. The rock would not have the time to make it higher than the Fudin's waistline, for it was then that it swung both arms up and out, coming to a pause when his arms formed a Y with its body. The motion caused the gathered energy to rush forward in wave after devastating wave.
Less than a second after its feet finally touched the ground, the first, most powerful wave of psychic energy washed over Burakki. But the biggest reaction that came from it was only the wavering of long ears caused by the wind generated by the attack. A boulder to Burakki's left, which was barely brushed by some of the larger, less intensive waves, was not as lucky. It shattered where it sat, the pieces tumbling in mid air, the intensive winds eroding them on the spot, before enough time had passed and the now almost miniscule pebbled were swept into the wing, along with the debris from the road itself and other rocks.
A look of shock crossed the face of Fudin's trainer. What Burakki had just done was impossible! "What the hell?!" he called out, stunned.
A smirk crossed Shigeru's lips as Burakki trotted up to a position about two feet in front and to his left. "Burakki is of the Evil-element, and is completely immune to Psychic attacks," he said, knowing this guy must not be familiar with the two newer elements of Pokémon. He was going to have to get used to the Evil element fast if he wanted any hope of victory.
"Erg," the trainer grunted, obviously exasperated by the fact that nothing he had tried thus far had worked. Both of his fists were tightly clenched, and Shigeru could tell right there that the other trainer had no chance. But the trainer obviously thought differently. "Fudin!" he called out, pointed out across the field at Burakki. "Let's go!"
Fudin lifted both of its feet, the psychic abilities of his element able to suspend it easily. That motion alone caused dust to swirl up. But it was nothing as to the rocks that pulled themselves from the ground and were launched behind the Psychic-type along with huge amounts of sand and dust, as it charged forwards, hovering an inch or two above the ground, shouting out its name—for it was the only word it could speak—as a battle cry.
Shigeru was now fairly sure about this Fudin's abilities and strength. The testing period was over. Now it was time to show just what Burakki could do. "Get in there, Burakki!"
The black and gold-furred Pokémon ran forward, having to rely on the abilities of its body more movement, rather than the abilities of its mind. A moment before impact, it jumped up, arching its body to sail easily over the Fudin's head. "Headbutt attack."
Burakki had already begun to turn by the time it landed, and expended only two steps to complete it, before kicking off with its extremely powerful hind legs. "Burakki!" it called out as it tucked its front paws to its chest, slamming into the Fudin's midsection headfirst. The force of the blow sent the psychic type flying backwards with a grunt.
"Fudin!" its trainer called out, alarm registering on his face. With a sound like dog nails on ceramic tiles, Fudin's feet stuck and dug into the ground, slowing it down until it finally managed to reach down and stop itself all together with its hands. A wave of relief washed over its trainer, and he managed to smile. "Yes. Fudin! Show them your Thunderpunch!" he called out, seeming a lot more confident than he had when Fudin was sailing through the air.
A green hued blaze erupted around both of the Fudin's fists, as it charged forward, right arm already out for the first blow. "Don't let him touch you!" Shigeru called out, knowing Burakki was too quick to be hit if it was ordered to concentrate on avoiding the blows. And he was right.
Five consecutive punches were thrown from alternating fists, and each time, Burakki was able to easily dodge to the side the punch was coming from, allowing it to slide past. After the fifth from launched, Burakki leapt into the air, trying to get behind the psychic. But it was better trained than to simply allow it to happen. A sixth Thunderpunch was aimed upwards, but just before it would have made contact, Burakki curled into a roll, sliding past the blazing fist at the last moment.
"That Burakki is incredible," Takeshi marveled from where he stood on the mountain ledge, "I don't think anything can touch it."
"It's certainly strong, isn't it?" Kasumi asked, amazed herself at the sight. The only thing she had seen that came close to this kind of action had been when Satoshi's Lizardon had taken on Katsura's Buubaa, all but destroying the volcano the battle had taken place on.
The only reaction Satoshi gave was a nod and grunt of acknowledgement. He was too wrapped up in the battle to really pay attention to what Kasumi and Takeshi were saying.
Amazingly, it wasn't until just then that Burakki's feet touched the ground. It stood poised, ready for another strike from the Fudin. But it didn't seem as if it could manage one right then, for it was breathing extremely hard from the effort of throwing so many punches.
The smirk on Shigeru's face only grew when he noticed this. "Heh, what's the matter, Kai?" he asked, knowing he wouldn't get a true response. Whatever the retort may be, it would be in the form of an order to Kai's Fudin.
Shigeru was on a role with correct assumptions today. "Fudin, Double Team!" The look of exasperation and desperation was evident on Kai's face. But, Shigeru was intrigued. The number of clones that would come from the Double Team would give him a bit more insight as to just how strong this Fudin was.
And when there was suddenly a circle of sixteen Fudin surrounding Burakki, he was impressed. He had seen anywhere from two to nineteen clones, and fifteen was a very good number. But it wasn't good enough when going against a Pokémon trained by Ookido Shigeru.
"Nice try," he said, the grin on his face growing for a bit, before it was replaced by a serious expression. "Burakki! Just take out the original. Home in on it, and use your Faint Attack!"
Burakki took up a stance with its forepaws spread wide, lowering itself close to the ground and uttering a drawn out "Rrraaa…" in preparation for what was to come. It wasn't a long wait.
With sixteen identical cries of "Fu-DIN!" the small army of bearded warriors rushed from all sides. Burakki gave two soft twitches of its ears, before it fired the coiled muscles, springing it into the air from its low position. It gave just enough height to hover above the heads of the charging Fudin.
It took a few seconds to register the information gathered from when the Fudin had begun their attack, but within a second of the jump, Burakki twisted, slamming it's head into the back of the creature that had gone directly beneath it. It went crashing down into the earth face first, letting out a painful moan. Slowly, but surely, the other fifteen wavered out of existence, proving Burakki had struck the right target.
The second Burakki's feet touched the ground back near Shigeru another order was issued. "Quick Attack!" The small monster's hind legs lifted, and struck the ground with such force, that it sent Burakki rushing forwards through the air, turning it into a literal black and gold rocket. Once the attack was activated, a field of white energy surrounded it, trailing behind all the way back to where it started.
"Teleport into negative space!" A split second before impact, Fudin merely disappeared. Burakki turned this way and that, startled to find that its opponent had not reappeared yet. "Now, fire off a Hyper Beam!" Kai called, obviously feeling he had the match in the bag.
A ripple to the left of the field caught Shigeru's eye, but it wasn't until a small flash appeared from the same spot did he look over. Slowly, his smirk grew into a frown as he realized what that meant. He snapped his head back towards Burakki. "Look out!"
Burakki's head turned just in time to see a beam of white energy appear from seemingly nowhere. It gave it just enough to leap up and out of the way. Now knowing where Fudin was, Shigeru called for the match to end. "Finish it off with your Shadow Ball!"
Burakki had not even touched the ground yet when it focused on the point from which the Hyper Beam had flown. Its eyes began to glow white. But for a few seconds, the red and blue shown through. But, the moment the eyes turned completely white, a small concussion sounded as waves of black energy resonated outwards.
Not only was the force of the attack enough to bring Fudin from between regular space and negative space, but once it had reappeared, it was sent flying backwards. If it had not been for a handy tree being in the way, it would have kept flying. But as it was, once the attack subsided, Fudin crumbled to the ground, obviously in no condition to continue the battle.
"Fudin!" Kai cried out, alarmed for the well being of his Pokémon. He rushed over and began to check for serious injuries.
Meanwhile, Burakki was just managing to land back near its master's feet.
~~
"Well, let's get going, Satoshi. You're the one who said Enju City is so close," Kasumi said, shaking Satoshi from the shock of how powerful a trainer Shigeru had become.
"G-going? What do you mean?" Satoshi knew he had knack for missing the completely obvious. He just didn't know how to keep from doing it.
"Both of those two are obviously better trainers than we are. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like getting caught up in a battle with either of them," she offered, sounding almost scared of the proposition of battling Shigeru or the boy who seemed to be named Kai.
Then Takeshi broke in. "I think she's right, Satoshi. You're a good trainer, but none of us are anywhere near Shigeru's level. It'd be best if we just kept going to Enju."
Why are they so desperate to get me away from Shigeru? Satoshi asked himself, looking at them strangely. Can't they see I obviously don't want to leave yet?! No, I guess they can't. They have no idea why I came to Johto . . .
He decided now was as good as a time as any to get away from them. "Look, if you two are scared of Shigeru, you can go on ahead. But I'm not ready to battle the Gym Leader in Enju City, yet." Satoshi had hoped that would work. It was HIS journey they were all on, after all, and he was the leader. He could order them to stay away, but that wouldn't feel right. He'd have to trick them.
Kasumi was resisting the urge to hammer him with her mallet. He could see it clearly. But luckily, her pride got the better of her anger. "Fine! If you wanna get creamed by Shigeru in a battle, that's fine by me! Let's go, Takeshi," she raged, before turning to storm off in the direction of the city.
"But—" Takeshi would never have time to finish his protest. Before the entire word was out, she had snagged him by the ear and was dragging him away, as she had done many times before when she couldn't stand the way he was obsessing over a pretty girl. Satoshi was thankful. His plan had worked.
And as soon as they where out of sight, he would finally be able to talk to Shigeru . . .
~~
Oh, I bet you just can't wait until the next part, right? Well, you're going to have to, because this is where I'm stopping. And I bet you'll be surprised by what's to come. Please give a review!